Egg in a Nest from The Happy Cookbook by Steve and Kathy Doocy

Believe me: you want to try Steve and Kathy Doocys’ spin on the American classic recipe, Egg in a Nest. You can get this and more in their new cookbook, The Happy Cookbook, on sale October 2, 2018. You can also order a signed edition from one of these fine retailers: Bookends (Steve’s local bookstore), Barnes & Noble, or Books-A-Million.

Egg in a Nest

Makes 4 servings

Thirty years ago we started making the classic egg in a nest from Disney’s Family Cookbook. It was simply an egg fried in a hole cut in a piece of bread.

“Dad, why do they call it egg in a nest? It’s egg in toast,” Mary, our future lawyer, said. She was right, so Mary inspired me to devise a version of egg in a nest that looks exactly like an egg in a nest. After twenty years of trying, I hit pay dirt when I realized that hash browns arranged in a circle look like a bird’s nest!

Eureka!

If there were a lifetime achievement award for innovation in breakfast foods that look like their names, I would hope Mary would nominate me and not the guy who invented the Pop-Tart.

Cooking spray

4 cups frozen hash browns, thawed to room temperature

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 large eggs

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 green onion, thinly sliced, for garnish

Ketchup, Frank’s RedHot sauce, or sriracha, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place 4 equal mounds of the hash browns on the prepared baking sheet. To make each nest, use your fingers to form a classic round nest shape, leaving about 1 inch of empty space in the center, where the egg will go. Use the back of a spatula or measuring cup to press down on the potatoes, fusing them together. Coat the nests liberally with cooking spray (this will make them fused and crispy), then lightly salt and pepper them to taste.

Bake until the nests are mostly golden around the edges, about 20 minutes.

Reshape the nests as needed, spooning any loose hash browns into the nests. Crack an egg into the middle of each nest, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for about 15 minutes more for no runny yolks.

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of shredded Cheddar on top, followed by some green onions if you like. Remove the nests to plates using a spatula and serve as is or with a squirt of ketchup, Frank’s RedHot sauce, or sriracha.